Overhead carrier system



J. L. BALDWIN. Y OVERHEAD CARRYIERSYYSTEM.

Arrumou HiEDjJAN. 24.1922.

Patelifed Aug. 15, 1922;

U parcels, the same consisting ofan elevated of which the following is a specification.

7 JAMES L. BALDWIN, or carcass, innrnorsj O ERHEAD CARRIER s'rsrn vr.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JA ES L. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, residing atChicago, in the county of Cook and State of provements in Overhead Carrier Systems,

This invention relates to apparatus employed in stores and other mercantile establishment'sfor the transportation of money'orf track upon which carriers travel from 'vari" ous sending terminals orstations to a receiving station, such as the'cashiers department, the bundle Wrapping department, etc; The invention relates more particularly to a carrier system in which long distances and frequent curves are encountered, and it is the object of the invention to provide a novel and improved ,mechanism for moving the carrier through such courses fromone floor to another above where the cashiers depart- Y mentor other terminalor receiving'station' may be located, or to allow it to continue, along another horizontal or vertical track on such upper floor. I 1

Another object ofthe invention is to provide power propulsion for the carrier during its'entire trip from the'sending station by the mere pressing'of a push button. A still further object of the invention is ,to provide a mechanism whereby power is below to the 'receivin station above; and so on the returnv trip, it descent by gravity is impracticable. v

A further object of the invention is to lend dispatch to the ascent of thecarrier by providing an electrical power element, actuated used only while the carrier is inaction, be-

.nism

ing even dispensed with for the return or descent where gravity may be resorted to.

Another object of the invention is to design the same devoid of complicated parts, making the structure easy to install and'operate, and economical to maintain and use.

In order that the invention may be better understood, reference is bad to the accompanying drawing, in which 1 Figure 1- is an elevation of the apparatus, partly broken away at an intermediate point; I

Fig. 2, is an enlarged elevation of the mechanism at the sending station;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of such Inecha-,

,Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of the {the form of ball stems Specification of .iietterslatent. Apug, 15, 1922,: Application-filedfl'anuary 24,1922. Serial No. 531.471.1"1

section a Y.

' F 6 is a cross secti n t +6YOf Fig.1. a M eferring specifically ;to the drawing,.l0

denotes a typical wire track as used incash or parcel carrying systems for the guidance. oi a carrier such as'isshown at 11, the track mechanism at the receiving"station,

Fig.6 is a side elevationther br'atm h "left hand side of Fig 4"; and '1' Illinois, have invented new and useful'lin i havingsuit-able supports 12, and guards 13. In the present instance, the lower end'of the y traclr-wirefis secured to a table or standlt at the 's'endlngl station 'Theca-rrier 11 has an arm l5ffor connection= witha belt'16 whose runs extend in'pa'rallel relationf'rom 1 I the sendiiig station tothe'end ofoth'eli'ne, following the course of the track, wire 10 alongside of the same; *The'belthas a; drive, pulley 17 associated with the' 'sen'ding sta-"f tion, and fa return pulle'y station, or end of the line. "Intermediate these points, twin sets of guide pulleys' 19 are distributed, each set being mounted oii-a pin 20 supported by a guard bracket 21. It will'be understood thatthe provision of the dual guide pulley arrangement; is due to the fact that; the'beltruns move in opposite directions.

Inforder'that the belt m 'ttjt taie aiw draw the carrier along its course, a1iele1ctric 18a thereceiving motor-"22 is secured underthe standli From I the shaft pulley 23 ofthejmotor, areduction belt connection 24 is made to a large pulley 25. supported in a stand 26 below. This pulley, as'well as the drive mentioned are'itree on a signed to become, I operatively connected through an automatic clutch. I As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the pulleys 25j and 17 carry clutch teeth25 and-.17 between them, the teeth 25 bein pulley 17 previously rspa ball stem and" the stem out,

Shaft 27; but are de-j 7 pivoted in ears 25 lonthe "face or" pulley 25, and having extensions in retracted p0,-

its a rather than a'idirectconnection'betvveenfthe pulleys 25 andl'? is tobper'atiVely connect 1 v stand.

from thebase plate 37. The belt run passes vice to take up slack in the belt. device originates with a hanger 23 depend. ing from the top of the'stand, and supportlas't mentioned is trained. forms a bottom loop under a pulley 30, "which carries a weight 31, and finally ing a pulley .29 over which the belt run ascends, as does the companion belt run,

by way or two guide pulleys 32, which aline the runs with the holes in the top of the It will be obvious that the weight 31 willdraw on the belt so as to eliminate slack in the same without disturbing its motion;

The motor 22 is controlled by a standard snap switch 33 fitted in the top of the stand 14'so that the on and off pushbuttons for operating the same appear on the sur-- face for handy reach by the clerk or salesperson. WVhile the latter is expected to press the on button to start the motor, an automatic device is provided to stop the same.

The starting of the motor causes the belt to propel the carrier 11 along itscourse from the sending station to the point of destination. The belt, however, carries a tapered enlargement 34' which starts on the return trip as the carrier starts from the point of origin, 'so that the enlargement 34 may be assumed to approach the sending stationby way of the descending belt run, at thetime the car- 'rier approaches the destination or receiving station. To arrest the motion of the beltas the carrier enters its destination, the enlargement 34 is caused to depress a finger 35 positioned over the oil button, with the result that the latter is pushed down and the current cut off. The finger 35 is rockably disposed in a bearing 36 having a base slate 37 secured on the stand 14 between the I off push button and the descending belt run; and that part of the finger 35 which extends beyond the fulcrum carries a peripherally grooved roller 38, which, in the position denoted by full lines, borders on the path of the descending belt run. Opposite the roller 38the path of the belt run is lined by a hollow jaw 39, which is formed down between theroller and the jaw, and, as theenlargement descends between these, it crowds the roller out, causing the finger 35 to rock and depress the off button, whereby the currentis cut off, and all motion ofthe mechanism ceases.

The track structure and the carrier as socia'ted with the same are of a design well known in the art, andtherefore need not be The latter then described in detail, other than to recur to the provision of the carrier with the arm 15, connecting the same with the ascending belt run. The latter passes through an aperture in the arm 15, first receiving a fixed collar 40, and a coil spring 41 between the collar and the arm. The latter is thus spring backed, and in striking ad-abutment .42 at the receiving station, will permit a gradual stop of the belt, reducing strain and vibration. I t

The abutment 42 forms part of a fixture 43,hung by a rod 44 of angular cross-section from a clamp 45, which is fastened by bolts 46 to a wall or railing bracket '47. The rod 44 passes slidably through the aws of the clamp,receiving a short coil spring 48 above same, and a long one 49 below. That part of, the belt which continues upwardly from the arm 15v passes through an aperture in the abutment 42, and through apertures in the clamp jaws, then mounting the ulley 18 as sectionally shown in Fig. 4. l etween the abutment 42 and the clamp, the belt passes freely through. a coil spring 50. The upper end of the angular rod 44 is made to secure the spring 48 by means of a washer 50 and cotter pin 50. It will now be seen that the impact of the carrier arm 15 with the abutment 42 is cushioned by the springs 49 and 50, with the rebound checked by spring 48.

In order that the carrier may remainelevated after its arm 15 has struck the abutment 42, said arm is caused to impinge upon a latch 51 pivotally hung at 52 from the fixture 43 and urged toward the arms line of travelby a small spring 53. The latch is shown snapped over the arm 15 after. the latter has stopped. between offsets 43 and 51 of the parts 43 and 51, the offset 51 also serving as a han- -dle which may be pressed up to swing the latch 51"back and release the carrierfor descent,

In case it is not convenient to use the offset or handle to release the carrier, a device is provided whereby merely a tug of the belt will accomplish the result. A finger 54 is pivoted at 55 alongside the latch 51, with, a continuation in the form of a dog 56. These two parts operate on the same pivot pin, and are caused normally to gather by the expansion of a spring 57 seated between two lugs 54 and 56 of the parts 54 and 56, re spectively. The lug 54 projects rearwardly from the finger 54, while the lug 56 projects laterally from the dog 56. The assembly of the finger, and dog is normallyin a position whereby the finger 54 crosses the path of the carrier arm 15, as shown dotted in Fig. 4. However, as the arm enters the latch 51, it pushes the finger back-as denoted by full lines in Fig. 4so as to cause the dog56 to advance upon the belt at a point above The spring 53 is lodged the collar 40. The frontal side of the dog is vertically grooved to lie closer to the belt, and therefore assure its being directlyin the path of the collar 40' While the finger 5-1 and dog 56 might be made in onepieceand assume the positions described, the speed of the carrier and its cushioned stoppage demand the flexible break joint of the finger and dog to avoid clashing and breakage, the spring 57 serving to cushion the contact of the dog with the belt or spring 41 encircling it. To operate the device the belt is given a tug in the direction of its previous travel. This action urges the dog 56 (through collar 40) upwardly, causing the pivot 55 to back and swing the latch 51 away from the carrier arm 15. The latter being free, the carrier drops of its weight, causing thebelt to move in reverse direction. If the carrier has an extended drop during the initial partof its return trip, it will accumulate suflicient momentum to continue. its trip to the sending station without further manual or power assistance. Especially will this action be facilitated by the freedom of the belt from the motor '22, through the agency of the automatic clutch 25 25 etc., so that the continuous return of the carrier will not suffer the resistance offered by the motor. It will be'obvious that the tug mentioned may be imparted to the belt by the attendant at the sending station, in case the operator at the receiving station is thought to have overlooked the return of the carrier to its home station.

In case a sufiicientinitial drop of the carrier cannot be arranged to enable the self return of the same, a power actuated return may be provided by the suitable adaptation of the apparatus at the sending station to the structure at the receiving station. With this idea in mind, it will beobvious that the motor at the receiving station could be put, into action by the pressing of a pushbutton governing a circuit independent from that of the motor at the sendingstation, so that a rapid return of the carrier to the latter may be effected. I

An apparatus is thus provided which assures prompt and efiicient carrier action with the use of few and simple "parts, no ,electrical wiring other than ordinary service onnections being employed.

I claim: 1. An overhead carrier system comprising a sending station, a receiving station, a wire track between the stations, an endless belt having its runs along the course of the track, power means for operating the belt, a carrier propelled by the belt along the track, a manually-operated starting control for the power means, and an automatic stopping control for the latter operative when the carrier reaches nation. I I

2. An overhead carrier system comprising a sending station, a receiving station, a wire track between the stations, an endless belt having its runs along the course of the track, power means for operating the belt,

track, a manually-operated starting control for the power means, an automatic stopping control for the latter operative when the carrier reaches the station of its destination,

and a device which automatically discon-' track between the-stations, an endless belt having its runs along the course of the track,

the station of. destie" power means for operating the belt, a car a rier propelled by the belt along the track, a manually-operated starting control [for the power means, an automatic stopping control for the latter operativewhen thejcarrierreaches the station of its destination, a latch l "for the retention of thecarrier afteriit has reached its destination, and'belt controlled means whereby said latch may be retracted i to release the carrier.

4.. Anoverheadcarrier systemlcomprising a sending station, a receiving station, a wire I having its runs along the course of the track, 1' 5 track between the stations, an endless belt an electric motor for operating the -belt, a

carrier propelled by the belt along the track, e motor starting and "stopping switch buttons.

located in proximity to thebelt, an enlargeto that on which the finger is located, I

part of thecarrier, a latch pivotally sus- .ment carried by the latter, a rockable finger e adapted to depress the stopping button upon] pressure exerted by said enlargement, and a back guide for the belton the side opposite, I

5. A terminal for overhead carrier sysj tems comprising a wire trackfor thecarrier, alooped beltifor the propulsion of theilatter, a spring-backed bumper foran arm forming Y and form a retainer for the carrier, a spring between the bumper and the latch to urge I the latter toward the arm, a finger pivotally 1 iounted alongside the latch and adaptedto be backed by the entrance of the arm into the latch, a dog pivotally suspended 'ff thelatch and positioned alongside the in-" coining run ofthe belt, anabutment on'such' run adapted to strike thed'og with th'eeffect .of'bjaclzing the latch out of engagement with the arm, and a spring directed from the fingerto urge the dogltoward the course of the said-belt run.

- In testimony whereof I aflix my: signature.

JAMES L. BALDWIN.

70 I a carrier propelled by the beltv along the I: 

